Per Ardua Ad Astra: Prelude
by nightshade468
Summary: For there to be a beginning, there must be an end. First in the series.


disclaimer: Do I look like J.K. Rowling? Nope. Am I J.K.? Nope. I'm just borrowing her characters for a bit. I promise I'll put them back where I found them…

a/n: Hey, y'all! I was originally going to have this be the prologue to a REALLY long epic, but since it takes me forever (as some of my readers will know) to get anywhere on a many-chaptered story, I'm going to make this the beginning of the Per Ardua Ad Astra series, which will be a bunch of shorter, four/five chaptered fics chronicling the lives of my characters. This is new; I've never done it before, so you'll have to tell me what you think! R&R!

**Per Ardua Ad Astra - "Through Hardship to the Stars"**

Part I… Prelude

by nightshade468

Elisabeth Blakely knew she was getting old. White had long since over-taken her long, thick black curls, but her chocolate eyes were as sharp as ever.

At eighty-five, she was getting slower in her movements, but her mind had not lost any of its quickness. Wizards often lived a good century longer than muggles, but after Tor's death the year before, Lisbeth had felt herself aging faster, and she understood why. The world seemed so much grayer without her mate.

She had spent her life following her heart, and she didn't regret any of her actions. Perhaps she would have wished for a grandchild who was magic-born, but one couldn't have everything. She had married the man she loved to distraction and had four beautiful daughters, as well as a grandson.

And now, as of sundown the previous night, she had a new granddaughter who was her namesake.

Lisbeth smiled down into the tired but happy face of her second-eldest daughter. Carrie looked exhausted and exhilarated at the birth of her first child. With a proud smile, she handed over the tiny form of her newborn, wrapped in a soft pink blanket.

"We named her Juliet Elisabeth Donovan," she said quietly, watching her mother meet the baby for the first time.

Lisbeth stared down into dark eyes that mirrored her own. Dark, fluffy newborn hair tufted from the tiny girl's head, and her skin had that husky, golden tone common to newborns.

But her gaze was surprisingly steady as she looked right into her great-grandmother's eyes, almost as if she knew who she was. Lisbeth reached up a finger and ran it down little Juliet's cheek, and then suddenly her vision blurred.

_She was looking into the same coffee-colored eyes, but now they belonged to a woman's face, a woman with hair the same color that Lisbeth's had once been. A woman who held a wand in her hand and was dressed in an Auror's robes._

_A witch with Lisbeth's eyes and smile. _

_A witch who was smiling and kissing a dark-haired wizard also in Auror's robes, a wizard with Orion Black's coal-dark eyes and handsome, chiseled features. He was broad shouldered, fit, and tall as well, easily topping six feet, wearing his jet black hair long enough to be pulled back into a queue._

_Images flashed by Lisbeth so fast that she hardly had time to process them. There was Hogwarts, and a flash of Gryffindor red. Albus' phoenix. Other faces that she sensed were to come in the future. The black-haired man again, still a boy, and a younger version of the witch Lisbeth had seen, both in Gryffindor Quidditch robes. A stag. A red-haired girl. A werewolf. A big black dog. An actual wolf. A small, chubby blond boy. A lean, sandy-haired boy with sad eyes and a boy with messy dark hair and glasses that she would swear was a Potter. The wolf again, a lovely charcoal-and-silver-coated creature, standing next to a great black dog even larger than the wolf._

_And then the witch once more, this time in muggle clothes, smiling at Lisbeth and holding a baby, this one also wrapped in pink._

Suddenly, Lisbeth's vision cleared, and she glanced down at the baby girl she held. The newborn's eyes were still fixed on her, and her granddaughter was watching her expectantly. "She's lovely," Lisbeth murmured, reluctantly handing little Juliet back to her mother.

_So our line continues, _she thought to herself as she left the hospital. _She is magic-born, and she will follow my footsteps to Hogwarts, and then to the Aurors. And if that young man she stood with wasn't of Orion's line, I'll eat my wand._

Lisbeth paused as she reached her car, glancing back up towards the maternity ward. _You have an interesting life ahead of you, young one. Good luck. You shall always have my love._

xxxxxxx

Three months later, the same evening that Aurelius Black announced the birth of his first child, a son, to the world, Lisbeth Blakely sat in her living room, reading.

Outwardly, the evening seemed no different from any other, but Lisbeth sensed the currents running through the air, and she knew that something would happen that night.

So she sat, in front of the fire, and did not look up when the cloaked figure stepped into the room.

Apparently without taking her attention from the book, she said, "I had wondered how long it would be before you came."

The cloaked figure drew back its hood, revealing a tall, white-haired man, still strong and straight despite his obvious age. "It's been a long time, Lisbeth. Too long."

With a sigh, she closed her book and stood to face him, her eyes guarded. Hidden by her own robes, her fingers closed around her wand. "I made my choice, Orion. You made yours. That was the end of it. Of us."

Orion Black stepped closer. "Your granddaughter's name has been entered onto Hogwarts' list, as has my grandson's."

"Thank you for that." She watched him closely. "What did your son name him?"

He met her eyes. "Sirius Orion Black."

Lisbeth chuckled. "Ironic that our heirs will be our namesakes and in the same year in their schooling."

Orion smiled, his dark eyes twinkling. Then he sobered. "I could not… It took me a long time to taker a wife, Lisbeth."

Her eyes saddened. "I know, Ry. Did you think I didn't keep track of you?"

"No more than I kept an eye on you."

"True. But I loved my husband, Ry. I couldn't betray him, not even for you."

Orion's eyes darkened with grief and pain long buried, but he nodded. "I know, Lisbeth. I know." But then he shook his head. "You need to leave. Now. I don't know how much time you have."

Lisbeth sighed, her eyes showing every one of her years. "So he has found me, then, after all these years." It was not a question.

Orion nodded. "Take the girl and go," he ordered, a hint of desperation in his voice.

"I will not. She is safe from harm, and I… I am ready." Her eyes were steady, and she reached up to touch Orion's cheek. "Go, my love. Just go."

His eyes were wild. "I cannot! I won't just leave you here to face him alone, Lissy!"

Lisbeth smiled softly, and pulled his head down to hers. Her dark eyes level with his blackened ones, she whispered, "I love you, Orion. Always. But it is time. Go."

With a hoarse growl, Orion kissed her hard, then snarled, "No."

Lisbeth raised a brow. "You would miss seeing your grandson for the first time?"

His eyes were resolute. "I will not leave you. Alphard has promised to care for him. He will not be unprotected."

Lisbeth opened her mouth to protest again, but Orion put a finger to her lips. Both heard the creak of footsteps on the stairs. In the hallway. In the kitchen. Outside the living room.

He kissed her one last time. "I have loved you since the moment I first saw you." Then, he turned to face the hooded, masked figures standing in the doorway. "Well, well, well. Look who has decided to visit America."

"Shut it, Black," the leading figure said in a soft, deadly voice.

"Well, I'm not surprised to hear your voice, Dolohov," Lisbeth said calmly. "You always were a fool."

"Now listen here, Mudblood--" Dolohov began.

Orion snarled, pointing his wand at the Death Eater. "You—"

"Now, now, gentlemen, there's no need to exchange harsh words," a silky voice interrupted. Red eyes glowed in the firelight. "Yet."

Lisbeth's voice was harsh. "Riddle."

The red eyes flashed. "Elisabeth. It's been a long time."

"Not long enough."

Voldemort's eyes went to Orion as he spoke. "And still you follow this one around, Orion. I should think your petty fancies would have died long ago, as you should have. Many times I have regretted not killing you when I had the chance, Black. But finally I can rid my glorious new world of the both of you. Tonight."

Orion's eyes were pitch black with anger. "You won't touch her, _Lord_ Voldemort." He stepped in front of Lisbeth.

"Won't I?" Voldemort's high-pitched laughter was sickening.

Shaking her head firmly, Lisbeth stepped up next to Orion. "Together, Ry. Like old times."

He nodded, raising his wand as she raised hers. "Exactly like old times, my love. Exactly like."

xxxxxxx

The next-door neighbors were startled awake by bright lights flashing from quiet Mrs. Blakely's old house.

After a pause, when the commotion seemed to have died down, they lay their heads back onto their pillows and closed their eyes, only to have them pop open again when an intensely bright green light flashed once. Then twice.

Several miles away, on the other side of town, a three-month-old baby girl began to wail.

A thousand leagues from Westchester, New York, a newborn baby boy snapped awake in his mother's arms in London, England, crying inconsolably.

xxxxxxx

Continued in _Per Ardua Ad Astra: Genesis_…

a/n: This ending made me really sad, actually. It really made me wonder what Lisbeth and Orion's story was. They may end up coming back in a flashback or two… But if this resembles the beginning of HP to any of you, I swear it was unintentional. Voldemort killed a LOT of people before Harry vanquished him (temporarily, anyway). I was going more for the fact that Lisbeth had a lot of unfinished business, with both Voldemort and Orion, as well as others, as you'll see in the next installment. R&R!


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